TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
bryan -dot- westbrook -at- amd -dot- com wrote:
>
> A fact that many screenwriters are well aware of. William Harrison, who wrote
> Rollerball, once said of the producers of that film, "They did everything to
> my script except use it."
>
> It also means that a company is free to hire somebody else to come in and
> update one of your manuals, at the company's discretion.
Usually, yes, but it does depend on the contracts involved. Most screenplays,
many pieces of software, and most technical writing are legally "works for
hire". The employer, not the author, owns the copyright.
For most books and musical compositions, the author owns the copyright.
For some things, like magazine articles and some software contracts, who ends
up with copyright may be negotiable. A freelancer might charge a client less
if he or she got to retain copyright. There might be revenue in an anthology
of the columns or in selling the software elsewhere. If so, the copyright
holder gets that revenue.
For some things, there's a running fight over this. Record companies have
been trying for years to have recordings classed as "works for hire". Of
course musicians object strenuously. See Courtney Love's rant: http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/
> A very interesting statement in Circular 14 reads:
>
> "Only the owner of a copyright in a work has the right to prepare,
> or authorize someone else to create, a new version of that work."
If it's a "work for hire" then the employer owns the copyright, and even
the author cannot produce a new version without permission.
Collect Royalties, Not Rejection Letters! Tell us your rejection story when you
submit your manuscript to iUniverse Nov. 6 -Dec. 15 and get five free copies of
your book. What are you waiting for? http://www.iuniverse.com/media/techwr
Your monthly sponsorship message here reaches more than
5000 technical writers, providing 2,500,000+ monthly impressions.
Contact Eric (ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com) for details and availability.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
